Help Chelsea to leave Stamford Bridge, Abramovich tells Blues fans

Roman Abramovich wants to clear a major barrier to leaving Stamford Bridge with an offer to buy crucial plots of land owned by Chelsea fans.

Thousands of Blues supporters share the freehold to land beneath the pitch and the stands at Stamford Bridge as part of the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) initiative set up in the Nineties to protect the club from property developers.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck insists there is no immediate plan to move but wants to remove this obstacle so that the board can react quickly if a good site becomes available. Letters of proposal were sent and will by now have reached CPO shareholders.